


Greenie: Sick Day(s)

by Happy_Giraffe



Series: Greenie Series [4]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Cute, Father/Daughter Relationship, I forgot how to tag this series, M/M, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Pining, Pneumonia, Sickfic, Swearing, bad understanding of hospitals, no beta we die like men, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-16 11:49:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18093746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happy_Giraffe/pseuds/Happy_Giraffe
Summary: Greenie saves a little girl, but at what cost?





	Greenie: Sick Day(s)

**Author's Note:**

> Ha! Y'all thought I was dead but I'm not. I just casually wrote 2 20k pieces that no one asked for.

December xx, 2042  
You stood between Gavin and Nines a look of fear and pity in your eyes, but your brows were also furrowed in thought; then you whispered, “I’m the only one who can save her.”  
Gavin and Nines looked out at the cracked ice that covered the lake before the three of you. It had frozen over two weeks ago and had been deemed safe for skating, but now there were deep, threatening cracks running through the ice and a little girl trapped in the middle. Officers surrounded the lake, keeping people off of the ice and radioing back and forth with ideas of how to get the girl to safety. You hadn’t been the first one to realize you were the smallest officer around. Nines was. He had tried to step in front of you, hide you from the view of other officers so they couldn’t get any ideas, but you had refused to let the android block your view. You needed to be able to examine everything to come up with a plan of action.  
“The first responders will be here in ten minutes,” Gavin commanded, “Wait for them.”  
“She doesn’t have ten minutes,” You breathed out.  
“Absolutely not, Officer,” Nines growled, “There is a 68% chance that ice cracks under your weight, and if you fall in the water there’s and 82% chance of death. I won’t allow it.”  
You looked at Nines, “Then don’t let me die.”  
Quickly, you shed your jacket, and then the top of your uniform so you were just in your cami, shoving the clothing into Nines’ chest. You continued to pull off your pants so you were just in the black, fleece lined tights you wore to help keep you warm, then shoved those at Gavin. They understood that if you fell it was better not to have your heavy uniform, it would only make it harder to surface. The other officers watched in curiosity as you took your first tentative step onto the ice.  
“Stay where you are. Let me come to you, alright?” You called out to the little girl, mustering the best smile you could for her.  
The little girl nodded silently, hugging herself. You tested each of your steps before you dared put your weight on them, listening to where the ice was sturdy and where it was cracking further. The pedestrians and officers watching were dead silent, allowing you to focus. The process was agonizingly slow. Slowly, you slid your way across the ice and to the center of the lake where you were able to take the girl by the hand.  
“Hi sweetheart. I’m going to get you off this lake and back to your mom, yeah? She’s real worried about you,” You nodded down at her with a comforting smile, “We’re going to go nice and slow to make sure nothing bad happens, okay?”  
“Okay,” The girl whimpered quietly.  
“I’m Officer (F/N),” You told her as you started to test your first step back to the bank.  
The little girl shivered beside you, “I’m Isabelle.”  
You cooed, “That’s a pretty name,” You were trying to keep her calm as you walked across the ice slowly, “When we get off this lake, I’ll make sure you get a nice cup of hot chocolate and if you want you can ride in one of the cop cars. How does that sound?”  
Isabelle nodded enthusiastically as you pulled her with you, “That sounds really nice.”  
You smiled, “Good. Good,” You huffed out as you took your next step. The ice directly below you groaned and a loud crack filled the empty air as the ice snapped apart. You froze and Isabelle suddenly clung to your leg. The ice behind you crackled threateningly, finally giving under your weight and the scores of lines from ice skates. The ice before you was clear, but behind you it was quickly splintering apart. You knelt down, “Alright Isabelle. I need you to be brave. See that big, tall android over there?” You tilted your head in Nines’ direction, “That’s one of my partners, his name is Nines. He looks scary but don’t be fooled, he’s a real big softy. I’m gonna slide you over there and he’s gonna take care of you, okay?” The little girl nodded and as soon as she did you gave her a shove in his direction, hard enough to send her to the edge of the lake and stumbling over the bank.  
Nines scooped her up as you stood, “Officer!”  
“(Y/N)!” Gavin shouted, looking as if he might run out onto the ice as well.  
You nodded as you braced yourself, “If something happens,” You started shakily, “Tell my mom I love her, tell Eli he’s a dick, and know that both of you are the greatest things to ever happen in my life,” You told Gavin, “I can’t take another step. The ice is going to shatter.”  
“It’s going to shatter beneath you if you wait. The closer the better, kid,” Gavin tried to reassure you as he shrugged off his jacket, “When you go down I’m coming in after you.”  
“Gavin don’t. It’s not safe.”  
“Well neither was going out onto the lake,” He countered, tearing off his work boots, “The closer you can get to me kid, the better.”  
You nodded and took one step. The ice shattered beneath you, plunging you into icy cold water. You were still so far from the shore of the lake, a good fifty feet out. The shock from how fast it happened knocked the air out of your lungs, and on reflex you breathed in, taking in water. Icy water froze your muscles, making it harder for you to fight back to the surface, and when you did you found yourself trapped under a piece of ice. Quickly you were losing your battle. Black started to creep into your vision as everything became fuzzy and you were vaguely aware of something falling into the water. You panicked, trying to push the ice out of the way or find a way up only exhausting you further.  
Something grabbed at your arm, but you lost consciousness.  
___  
Soft, yet irritating, beeping was the first thing you heard that started to pull you out of the darkness. Your mind felt foggy as you tossed your head back and forth slowly, trying to open your eyes. A hand rested against your cheek, stilling the movement and gently stroking. Slowly, your eyes fluttered open to be greeted by Gavin smiling down at you.  
“There she is,” He breathed out happily, “Welcome back, kid.” He leaned back.  
“I lived?” You asked, half sarcastically; obviously you knew the answer but you were still shocked.  
Gavin chuckled, “Yeah kid, you lived,” He smirked, “I told you I’d jump in after you. Pulled you out as quick as I could and both of us were whisked away by an ambulance moments later.”  
You squinted at him suspiciously, “Then how comes I’m still hooked up and you’re not?”  
He snorted, “Kid, you’ve been out for a whole day now. I just needed to be dried off and kept warm. You, on the other hand, sank like the goddamn Titanic and had water in your lungs. Weren’t breathing when I pulled you out,” He looked down a bit somber when he said that last part, “You gave us a pretty good scare.”  
You nodded slowly, relaxing back into your bed before a coughing fit tore through you, “Fucking Titanic,” You grumbled.  
Gavin stood, shoving his hands in his pockets, “I’m gonna go tell the nurses you’re awake. Don’t move or do anything dumb.”  
As you watched your partner leave you sighed sarcastically, “Oh no, I’m going to purposefully tear my IV out and jump through the window after nearly drowning. My life is a wreck.”  
You could hear Gavin snort again as he walked down the hall. Another short coughing fit stirred you into sitting up, but once it finished you noticed a distinct lack of a certain android. Nines was nowhere to be found. It was fair to guess he was probably at work while Gavin waited for you to wake up, the android had always been the more productive of the two. Every muscle in your body seemed to ache as you laid back down. At least you had saved Isabelle.  
“Officer (L/N), good to see you’re awake,” A man you assumed was your doctor entered the room, followed by your partner who didn’t look all too happy, “I hear you’ve been coughing since you woke up?”  
You nodded, another weak cough ripping out of your throat, “Yeah.”  
He nodded and made a note on his tablet, “Well there was quite a bit of fluid in your lungs when they brought you in so you may still be trying to clear some of that, which is fine. If it doesn’t go away in a few days though you may want to come back and let us check it out,” He explained, “And other than that you should be good to go. We’ve had you for a day, and no complications have presented. I’ll get a nurse in here to take out your IV and then you’re cleared to leave with your father.”  
“Thanks, doc,” You replied shortly. As soon as the doctor left you shot a look to Gavin, “Father?”  
He waved a hand at you dismissively, making a noise deep in his throat, “I might as well be at this point. Besides, it was the only way Nines and I were getting in here; apparently being your partners wasn’t enough. Nines told them we were your fathers.”  
You squinted suspiciously, “Where exactly is Nines?”  
Just then the android walked in, a small bouquet of flowers in his left hand and a cup of coffee in his other, “Has she woken?”  
“No,” You snorted before coughing twice.  
Nines rolled his eyes and handed Gavin the cup of coffee, “I already miss the peace and quiet.”  
You laughed quietly, “Thanks Nines, I missed you too.”  
The android walked over to your bedside and handed you the flowers, gently smoothing back your hair and kissing your forehead, “You had us scared. Never do that again,” He whispered, “Please.”  
You looked up at your partner and saw his LED was yellow. Concern painted his face as he looked into your eyes. It felt like he was looking into your soul, pleading for you not to put your life on the line again. Slowly, you nodded, a silent promise to listen to him. He leaned back, LED shining blue with your confirmation, and guilt swimming in your chest.  
“I’m sorry. I just…Nines she would have died,” You sighed, “I won’t do it again but I just had to. She was so young.”  
He nodded, “I know. Isabelle told me she was six years old and that you told her not to be afraid of me because I’m a big softy. I bought her a hot chocolate as per your request and got her back to her mother,” He smiled softly.  
“See, you are a big softy,” You joked lightly, “If I had to go back and make that choice again I would. No mother deserves to bury their child.”  
Nines shook his head, “You have a heart of gold, Officer, but you’re dumb.”  
“Just dumb enough,” You confirmed.  
Gavin chuckled at your ability to make jokes even when everything feels somber. You coughed a couple more times, your chest aching slightly from the action as you laid back. A nurse came in not long after, an android who seemed more than happy to do his job. He checked your vitals one last time before detaching any remaining wires from your body and taking out your IV. With a nod and a quiet reminder that you were free to go, he left the room. Gavin helped you up from the bed and you noticed you were only in a hospital gown.  
Nines held up a pile of clothing, “I suppose you want these?”  
“Are they Gavin’s sweats?” You asked, somewhat excited.  
“His pants but my hoodie actually,” The android confirmed with a smile, “We both know you like mine better.”  
You nodded, “I do. Your hoodies are bigger and softer,” You took the clothes from Nines thankfully, slipping the sweatpants on under the gown and turning away from the men to pull off the thin material and trade it for the hoodie, “Much better,” You sighed.  
“Let’s go, kid. Sunshine misses you and so does tin can’s desk,” Gavin chuckled, throwing his arm around your shoulders and leading you out of the hospital.  
You groaned, “I have to go back to work? But I nearly drowned in ice water to save a kid, doesn’t that count for anything? Like a single day off?”  
He laughed, “It counts for brownie points. There’ll be a news story about you and you’ll have to do a press release for like, twenty minutes.”  
“Do I really have to do a press release?” You asked and rolled your eyes, “I don’t need a bunch of reporters all shouting questions at me.”  
“It’s scheduled for tomorrow morning,” Nines informed you, “You’ll have to wear your uniform and answer questions for about half an hour.”  
You scoffed and leaned into Gavin’s warmth, “The entire city already knows who I am and what I did probably. The news is all over shit like this, why do I still have to do a press release if everyone knows what happened?”  
Nines placed his hand on your shoulder, “It’s only for forty minutes. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”  
___  
You woke up feeling like trash. Your head pounded and your entire body ached as you coughed periodically. Nines had delivered two slices of buttered toast to you, and asked how you were feeling. His scans didn’t indicate anything wrong besides a low grade fever so he promised to bring you back some ibuprofen, but you’d still need to get dressed and ready for work. You did so sluggishly, pulling on your blues and tying your hair back in your signature French braid. Makeup was minimal because feeling like trash means letting your skin breathe in hopes of not feeling like trash. You didn’t even notice the bags forming under your eyes.  
After eating your toast and taking the plate back to the kitchen Nines handed you the ibuprofen like promised. As soon as you downed the two small pills with a swig of water Gavin was ushering you out the door, scolding you about being late to your own press release. Nines lagged behind a bit, grabbing a few things to throw in the trunk before joining you and Gavin in the car. He drove quickly, most likely breaking the speed limit by twenty miles per hour or so, so you wouldn’t be late. All you know was that everything felt hazy and you were having problems focusing. You continued to cough, complaining that your chest hurt. It didn’t seem to Gavin or Nines that you were very responsive, so when they parked at the precinct the android took the liberty of pulling you out of the car and tossing you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He grabbed the bag he had thrown in the trunk earlier and walked into the precinct.  
“You guys are late!” Tina scolded loudly as she scurried up to the partners, “The reporters are getting restless. Coffee and donuts can only placate journalists for so long!”  
You groaned quietly and coughed as Nines set you down in his chair, “Yes well, we had a slight delay,” He stated pointedly, obviously annoyed.  
Tina looked at you and scowled, “She looks like shit. She can’t talk to the reporters like that.”  
“I know,” Nines replied flatly, setting the duffle bag on the ground and rifling through it. He took out two small bags and handed them to Tina, “Fix it.”  
Tina looked at the makeup bags in her hand, one of brushes, one of your regular makeup, then down at you, “You owe me coffee, and the good stuff not the office stuff.”  
“Deal, just make her look presentable,” The android growled.  
Gavin stood back and watched as Tina found your foundation and concealer and got to work. You were groaning and trying to push her away weakly. Obviously you didn’t feel good, and that didn’t sit well with the detective. You looked pale aside from the flush that was covering your cheeks, however Tina was currently covering it up. Deep purple bags had set under your eyes and you generally looked miserable. Coughs tore from your throat frequently, sounding wetter than before, and you had to spit into a trashcan more than once in the process. No amount of cheap concealer was covering the bags though, and Tina stood shaking her head.  
“That’s the best I can get it,” She surrendered.  
Nines nodded, “She looks…presentable. It will have to do for now. Officer are you with us?” He knelt down before you and snapped in front of your eyes.  
You shoved his hand away weakly, “Fuck off, Robocop,” You grumbled, a short coughing fit forcing you to hunch.  
The android didn’t look amused as he hauled you out of the seat, “Just get through this press release and don’t say anything you’ll regret.”  
Nines dragged you across the precinct and to the press release room where Fowler was stalling for time. When the android walked in his face lit up, but Nines shot Jeffrey a grim look. Gavin followed behind you, nudging you every now and again to follow the taller android. For you, everything was still hazy, a fog settling over your mind but also your vision. When Fowler announced you and called you forward you stumbled up to the podium, gripping onto it like a lifeline. Your head swam and you felt weak; you shouldn’t be up there. Something was wrong.  
“Officer (L/N), how does it feel to know you saved that little girl’s life?” One reported asked.  
“Fantastic,” You tried to muster all your energy into the response but it only came out a mumble, “She’s such a sweet little girl and I’m glad she’s okay.”  
“Would you do it again?”  
“In a heartbeat,” You responded to the question, swaying slightly. You spent the next couple of minutes answering the onslaught of never ending questions. Half an hour, you reminded yourself as you kept going, or did Nines say forty minutes? You couldn’t remember. Every now and again you would cough, turning away from your mic only to excuse yourself and apologize afterwards. It seemed like a lifetime until someone asked a peculiar question.  
“Are you feeling alright, Officer?”  
“Hm?” You hummed in confusion, “Could you-?” Your grip slipped from the podium and you stumbled backwards, your back slamming into the wall before you fell to the ground. The audience gasped. You clutched your sides as a long coughing fit wracked your body, and in an instant it seemed like Gavin was by your side.  
“Hey, kid, I need you to concentrate, okay?” He asked, panic in his voice. You didn’t respond, your eyes unfocused as you looked past him. The detective shoved his hand up against your forehead, then slowly slid it over the temple, “Shit,” He muttered, “Nines, she’s gotta go back to the hospital, something’s not right. She’s burning up,” Gavin hurriedly pulled you into his arms and turned to address the audience of reporters, “Uh…Officer (L/N) was released from the hospital yesterday however it seems she’s having some uh…unexpected complications. I’m sorry but we’ll have to cut this short.”  
The detective rushes down off of the lifted platform that held the podium, careful not jostle you too much. Nines opened the door out of the room, allowing Gavin to pass before following after him. You were complaining in his arms, burying your head into his chest and begging him to make it stop. You sounded pitiful and Gavin didn’t know what to do, he’d never taken care of a kid before let alone one desperately ill. It was almost enough to make him stop and sit down on the floor to coddle you and whisper false promises until you felt better. The falter in his step caused Nines to place his hand on the detective’s lower back, urging him to keep moving.  
“She’ll be alright, Detective. She just needs to see a doctor,” Nines reassured softly, “Stay in the back with her.”  
Gavin nodded and continued on to his car. He gently laid you out in the backseat before climbing in after you, pulling you back into his arms to comfort you. Nines got in the front and stuck the key in the ignition, turning it and immediately pulling out of the parking lot. You tossed and turned in Gavin’s arms, your eyes screwed shut from the discomfort.  
“I feel like I’m dying,” You groaned, coughing again.  
“You’re not dying, you’re just sick,” Gavin cautioned, feeling uncomfortable at the mention of death.  
You shook, “Never been this sick before,” A violent coughing fit wracked your body, jostling you in Gavin’s lap before you settled down again with a groan, “My chest hurts,” You whined, a pained whimper escaping you.  
“I know, kid,” He leaned down and gently kissed your head, “I know. It’s gonna be okay. We just gotta get you to the hospital and they’ll take care of you.”  
A few pained tears slipped out of your closed eyes as you coughed again, weakly, “I just wanna go home. Take me home,” You cried.  
Gavin shook his head, “You have to go to the hospital, greenie. Something’s wrong and we gotta know what.”  
“Please.”  
He sighed, “We’re almost there. You’re going to be fine, just hang in there. Nines how much longer?”  
“Five minutes,” The android responded, “There’s bound to be a wait once we get there though.”  
Gavin froze, “I forgot about wait time. Can we abuse our badges?”  
“Highly unlikely,” Nines shook his head, “It’s not enough of an emergency to push her to the top of the list, badge or not.”  
You were still shifting uncomfortably in Gavin’s lap, causing him to look down and help readjust you, “You’re fine, kid. Settle down.” You were crying, hands pressing on your chest as you continued to cough, “C’mon you’ve been through worse, you’re being a wimp.” He took your hands to pull them away from your chest.  
“It hurts to breathe,” You whimpered, “I don’t know what’s going on. I just want to go home.”  
Gavin spent the rest of the ride trying to hush you and calm you down. Each time you coughed it felt like fire in your chest, and breathing was nearly just as bad. You kept telling your partners that you wanted to go home and they promised you they’d take you home after you saw a doctor, but that wasn’t soon enough for you. As soon as Nines had engaged the parking break Gavin was out of the car and pulling you into his arms. He held you like a koala, wrapping your legs around his waist and your arms around his shoulders so you could just hide your face in his neck if you wanted. To him, you were just a kid, someone who missed out on a lot without having a father around, but now he was here to protect you and he was going to do everything in his power to make you feel safe.  
“Nines, go ahead and get her signed in. Try and see if your badge will get you anywhere and let them know what happened,” Gavin ordered the android.  
Nines nodded and took long strides ahead of Gavin to get you signed in to start the wait. Gavin readjusted you in his arms, causing you to whimper and cough weakly. He hushed you softly, walking slowly as to not jostle you too much. You were very warm in his arms and he could feel the small tremors running through you as you were half asleep in his arms. He walked in through the emergency room entrance and sat down in one of chairs, readjusting you so you were comfortably on his lap. There were plenty of people waiting with kids and by themselves, but too many for Gavin’s liking.  
Nines sat down beside his partner, “I was able to convince them to move her up in the order but some of these people have been waiting for hours. I was told to expect an hour wait or more before they were able to take her.”  
“You’re kidding?” Gavin gawped, “An hour? We’re police officers!”  
“I’m aware,” grumbled Nines, “But we are also part of the general public and will have to wait. Why don’t you let me hold her for a bit? I might be able to help her fever.”  
Gavin allowed Nines to take you from him and settle you into his lap. At this point you were barely coherent, practically asleep in your miserable state. Immediately, Nines cooled his internal temperature as much as he could, pressing his cold hands to the bottom of your spine and the back of your neck. You leaned into his touch happily, the cool feeling nice against your feverish skin. Nines cooed softly in your ear when you whimpered and coughed, trying to keep you as calm as possible. The situation was already odd enough; three officers in their uniforms, one desperately sick and sitting on her coworker’s lap. The others in the waiting room were shooting them odd looks, except for one mother who sat in the corner with her toddler; she gave them a sympathetic look, one parent to another.  
Eventually the triage nurse got through the long line of waiting patients and called your name. Nines stood immediately, and gave Gavin a look so he would stay put. It was only triage after all and that didn’t necessarily mean you were going back for treatment yet. You just needed to have a short examination to determine your condition. Nines followed the nurse to a small room and when he goes to set you onto the examination table you refused to let go.  
“My apologies, but it seems she doesn’t want to be set down,” Nines sat down on the table himself, “I promise she’ll be compliant and I’ll make this as easy as possible for the both of us.”  
The nurse smiled kindly, “It’s no worry. We go through this with a lot of children, I’m sure it’s not different with a young adult.”  
The nurse was kind and patient as she took your vitals. Nines had to answer all the questions for you, seeing as you refused to move your head from where it was buried against his chest. He told her about your fever and the pain in your chest and an estimate of how much pain you were most likely in, which he approximated to be an eight with how you had been crying and whimpering on and off for the past hour or so. Nines also included the incident at the precinct and how you had fallen. This seemed to concern the nurse as well as how out of it you were.  
“Is there anything that may have caused this that you know of?” The nurse asked.  
“Two days ago she had fallen into a frozen lake and nearly drowned. She was brought to the hospital and once she woke up she was cleared and discharged. That was yesterday,” Nines informed her, his LED going yellow as he realized the doctors had probably missed something.  
The nurse’s eyes widened, “Oh dear, I didn’t realize she’s the officer that saved the little girl.”  
“Yes, she is,” Nines nodded, “But right now she’s not an officer. She’s the daughter of two very concerned fathers who just want her to stop hurting.”  
The nurses nodded as she marked something on her tablet, “She’s marked as critical and high importance. She’ll be going back for a further examination as soon as a bed frees up. For now I’m sorry, but I’ll have to ask you to head back to the waiting room.”  
Nines stood, “Thank you, nurse.” With a nod, Nines left the room, carrying you back out to the waiting room and reclaiming his seat, “She’s been declared critical, she’ll be the first to go back when a bed opens up,” He informed his detective.  
Gavin nodded, “How’s she doing?” Concern dripped into his voice.  
Nines sighed, “She’s been asleep for the past fifteen minutes but it’s been uneasy. She stirs but falls back to sleep almost immediately. It seems to have quelled the pain a bit but she’s still running a fever of 102 degrees.” He pressed his hand back to your neck, “I’m worried,” He admitted softly.  
“I am too, big guy,” Gavin agreed, “I’m glad she fell asleep though.”  
Nines held onto you for another ten minutes before passing you back to Gavin, saying he needed to call the captain and explain the situation. Gavin told him to ask for tomorrow off, on the off chance Fowler would be generous, but they were flooded with work right now and the chances of a day off were low. You were sound asleep against his chest. He was just thankful you weren’t coughing anymore. Nines returned after twenty minutes, just in time for them to call your name. The android lifted you out of Gavin’s arms and followed the nurse back to a bay, Gavin following behind him. An emergency physician was waiting in the room when Nines laid you out of the bed and gently shook your shoulder to rouse you out of your slumber.  
“Nines? Where are we? Did we go home?” You asked, reaching out for him again, “My chest hurts,” You coughed.  
The physician smiled and wheeled over in his chair, “Officer (L/N), I hear you’ve got a fever and have been coughing, and apparently also some chest pain, is that right?” You nodded, turning your head to looks at the doctor, “Our triage nurse suspects it may be pneumonia, and seeing as you were just with us for nearly drowning the other day I agree. We’re going to run some blood tests and take a chest x-ray to get to the bottom of this. How does that sound?”  
You just nodded weakly, “Anything to make this stop.”  
___  
The next few hour were excruciating as you waited for results on the tests and x-rays, but more so on Gavin and Nines. You had fallen asleep in between your bloodwork and the x-ray, and then once again as soon as they returned you to the room. They had placed an IV drip in your arm and pushed some anti-nausea medicine after you had thrown up twice as well as a painkiller for your chest. Nines had somehow managed to remove the makeup Tina had caked on your face earlier, revealing the bright flush across your cheeks as well as the purple coloring beneath your eyes.  
The android sighed as he brushed the hair back out of your face, “How did they miss this yesterday? Pneumonia can be very serious.”  
Gavin shrugged, “All the tests they had taken had come back clear yesterday. Nothing they could have done at the time,” He moved to sit on the edge of the bed beside Nines, “She looks like shit.”  
“She’s sick, Gavin.”  
He huffed, “Yeah, and I don’t like it. We don’t have off work and that means we aren’t going to be able to take care of her. She’s going to have to take care of herself for most of the day.”  
“Not necessarily. We could always-”  
“Don’t even say that. I’m not even considering it. I’d rather leave her at home alone than leave her there,” Gavin grumbled.  
Nines raised his eyebrows, “Well you don’t have to consider it because I am. We can’t leave her home alone if she has pneumonia.”  
You weakly slapped Nines’ thigh, “You two are loud,” You complained with a cough then groaned.  
“Morning sleeping beauty,” Gavin laughed, “How are you feeling?”  
You opened your eyes and turned to face him, your eyes not quite focused, “Tired and kinda like there’s an elephant sitting on my chest. Can we go home yet?”  
He shook his head, “The doctor still hasn’t returned with the results. I don’t get what takes these places so long but we’re just going to have to wait it out,” He sighed, resting his hand on your knee, “I’m sure Sunshine will be excited to have you home for a few days though.”  
“A few days?”  
“Yes,” Nines confirmed, “This isn’t something you’re going to recover from quickly. Average recovery takes about a week of antibiotics and another week or two of coughing, but the fatigued feelings can linger for up to a month.”  
You groaned unhappily and threw your head back against the small pillow on the bed. The doctor walked in, a small smile forming on his face when he noticed you were awake. Gavin and Nines stood from where they were sat on your bed and nodded to him respectfully. He had a large manila envelope in his hands, and moved to a light board hung on the wall and began to put up your chest x-rays.  
“So our nurse was right, it’s definitely pneumonia,” The doctor started then flicked the switch to the board, lighting up the images, “If you look here,” He pointed at your lungs, “You can actually see the infection and how wide spread it is as well as the small amount of fluid in the bottom of your lungs. I was surprised when I saw them because the ones that were taken yesterday are completely clean, and it’s unusual for infection to spread so quickly. Thankfully, we were able to determine it is bacterial pneumonia so you’ll be able to take some antibiotics to fight it off, and you aren’t all that contagious, if at all.”  
You nodded weakly, “How long?”  
“Seeing as how aggressively it came on and how wide spread it is, I’m guessing about ten days until it’s gone, and at least four until your symptoms really start to subside,” The doctor looked at you with sympathy, “We’ll send you home with the antibiotics and a high dosage ibuprofen to help with the fever and pain, sadly you won’t be able to take a cough suppressant while taking the ibuprofen to avoid an accidental overdose.”  
“How soon can I go back to work?” You asked, hoping it wouldn’t be too long.  
“Ten days, once you’ve taken all the antibiotics. And you’ll have to come check in with us after those ten days also just so we can make sure the infection is gone and won’t return.”  
You sighed in disappointment, ten days sick leave was more than you had left. Although you had tried your best to maintain your health you had still ended up taking eight of your fourteen available days. After that you tuned the doctor out, a glazed over look on your face. You were sure whatever the man was saying Gavin and Nines were listening and could relay it to you later. Ten days. You didn’t have ten days. Hell, there were barely ten days left in the year. What were you going to do? Surely Fowler would understand? But then again the man was also constantly on your ass about you not working hard enough and needing to get more done as a young officer. The next few days were going to be hell.  
“You hear all that, kid?” Gavin raised his brow at you, gently knocking his hand against your shoulder to gain your attention.  
You snapped out if it, “Huh? Yeah.”  
He looked at you skeptically but nodded. When the doctor left the room Gavin sat on the bed again, “Okay, what’s going through your mind, kid? I can practically see your LED flashing red,” He joked lightheartedly.  
“I don’t have ten sick days to give. I only have six left,” You frowned and then coughed, “I’m so behind on work already that I don’t want to take those six days. Fowler’s been on my ass for the past three months about being more productive-”  
Nines cut you off, “Captain Fowler is hard on all of the new recruits. He sees promise in you and doesn’t want Gavin’s lack of effort to influence you.”  
“Nines, it’s been a year and I haven’t slowed down once,” A short coughing fit cut you off and you groaned as you sat up, “I’m pretty sure he’s been trying to find a reason to fire me since January.”  
“Nah, Fowler likes you kid,” Gavin reassured you with a smile, “You’re the most promising young officer he’s seen since I was a rookie.” His hand gently shook your leg, “We’re gonna get you home and nice and cozy and you’re going to recover comfortably without worrying about Jeffrey.”  
“You’re lucky I have a fever and can’t think clear enough to argue with you,” You squinted your eyes at him and coughed.  
He laughed, “Hell yeah I am.”  
A nurse came in and took the IV from your arm and handed Nines the prescription, telling him he could get it filled in the hospital or their local pharmacy. With a nod, Nine’s LED went yellow as he sent the prescription information to the pharmacy that filled your Buspar. As soon as you were unhooked and clear to leave he lifted you into his arms again. You rested your head against the side of the android’s neck as your legs wrapped around his waist and you let out a single miserable cough. Nines was grateful that you weren’t fighting him and that it seemed your anxiety was at the lowest he’d ever witnessed.  
“Go to sleep, Officer, we’ll be home before you know it,” He whispered in your ear as he carried you out of the hospital.  
You nodded and did as told, the feverish haze returning now that you no longer had a cold drip running directly into your blood to help cool you down. Nines was warm but he was very comfortable and you snuggled into him. A soft chuckle left the android as he felt you nuzzling into him. When he tried to set you down in the car you clung to him, once again refusing to let go. Gavin reassured him that it was fine to sit in the back with you, and fished the car keys out of his boyfriend’s pocket. Gavin had barely started the car when you had fully fallen asleep against your partner.  
___  
Gavin and Nines had woken up and gotten dressed for work in silence. You wouldn’t be going to work today, or any of the next couple of days for that matter. They were still at ends with each other on what to do with you. Gavin was adamant that it would be fine to leave you at home with the animals, while Nines was sure you needed someone to watch over you, especially after your very clingy display yesterday. You hadn’t wanted to let go of either of your partners once you had your arms around them, whining every time they set you down. They had only managed to get you to bed by offering up one of your larger stuffed animals and one of Gavin’s old body pillows. You had curled around the pillow quickly and Nines had to practically shove your pills down your throat to get you to take them before he would allow you to sleep.  
Now, they stood at the foot of your bed watching your sleep. They had to make a decision soon on what they were doing with you. Time was running out. Nines was running a full scan on you. Your fever, while not gone, had gone down two degrees to rest evenly on 100, but you were still suffering with the fluid in your lungs. A flush had colored your cheeks pink, across the bridge of your nose and touching the tips of your ears. Gavin watched you intently, how your grip periodically tightened around the plushy in your arms and how you had cocooned yourself in as many blankets as possible. Sunshine was pressed up against your back, snuggling into you.  
“We’re taking her,” Nines decided with finality, “She will not take care of herself in this state and until her symptoms start to subside she will need to be looked after.”  
“Fine,” Gavin growled, “But you’re calling the bastard, and try not to wake her up.”  
“I contacted him last night,” Nines informed his human with a self-satisfied smirk, watching him storm from the room, “Please grab her medications.”  
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll pack a go-bag of sorts for her,” The detective huffed as he moved to the kitchen to grab some essentials.  
Nines was careful as he lifted you into his arms, blanket cocoon and all. A gentle smile crossed his face as you turned and rested your head against his chest. If it weren’t for the slight furrow of your bow you would look completely at peace. He walked carefully through the house, his smooth steps effortless, never jostling you and allowing you to remain unaware of the fact you were no longer in bed. Gavin was tossing your medicine and other small essentials in a duffle bag for you when Nines walked into the living room. The man walked back into your bedroom for a moment before emerging again.  
“Alright, that should be everything. Let’s go before we’re late,” Gavin grumbled, holding the front door open.  
Nines stepped out of the house, watching as you face scrunched in distaste as the cool air hit you. You tried to hide your face more in your blanket and Nines was quick to maneuver you into the backseat of the car, out of the cold. Gavin locked the front door and got into the passenger seat while Nines started up the engine and began to drive. They were quiet, partly due to trying not to wake you and partially because Gavin was still mad he lost the argument.  
“This is for the best, Gavin,”  
“Shut up, tincan.”  
The rest of the ride was spent in tense silence until they arrived at their destination. The large house in the middle of nowhere probably wasn’t the most ideal place for you to spend time recovering, but it was really the only option they had. Nines shut off the engine and before he could get out to get you out of the car, Gavin had already gotten you bundled into his arms. The visage warmed Nines’ heart, he really did enjoy Gavin showing her fatherly side. It wasn’t a secret he thought of you as a daughter nowadays. The way he coddled you close and looked down to check if you were comfortable was endearing. Nines retrieved the duffle from the trunk and motioned for Gavin to follow him as he went up to knock on the door.  
The door opened quickly, as if the man had been waiting for them, “How’s my duckling?” Elijah asked as Gavin walked passed his brother and into the house.  
“She’s better than she was yesterday but I fear her fever may go back up when she wakes,” Nines explained, stepping in so the door could be closed, “We packed the essentials you’ll need. When she wakes she’ll need both of her medications, most importantly the antibiotic. Her favorite stuffed animal, one of my hoodies, and a change of clothing or pajamas if she wants to shower are all in the bag.”  
Elijah nodded along with the android, “What else? I know there’s more, pneumonia isn’t a joke.”  
“She was nauseous yesterday, so I would give her something soft on her stomach, boiled chicken and steamed rice, or chicken noodle soup are always good staples,” The android continued, “We aren’t doing any cough suppressants, please let her cough as we’re hoping she’ll be able to expel some of the fluid from her lungs that way. And I wouldn’t recommend picking her up or cuddling with her. Once she has a hold of you she won’t let go.” Nines held out a printed list to the man, “I wrote everything down just in case.”  
Elijah took the paper and looked it over, “I think I get the gist of it,” He smiled, “After all it can’t be too different from taking care of Gavin when we were young. Speaking of, he barged in here and took off. We should go find him.”  
Nines nodded and allowed Elijah to lead the way. They were both sure Gavin knew the way to the guest room. They walked the house quickly and quietly until the came to the guest room. Gavin had laid you down on the bed and rearranged your blankets so you would be comfortable. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, whispering to you as he felt your temple to check your temperature. Elijah and Nines took a moment to take in the sweet scene before them, then Nines gently rapped his knuckles against the doorframe. Gavin startled and stood up abruptly, turning to face his brother and husband, both of whom sported small smiles.  
“It’s time to go, Gavin. She’ll be fine,” Nines reassured him.  
Gavin sighed, “I just don’t feel comfortable leaving her here. What’s going to happen when she wakes up and doesn’t know where she is?” He huffed and crossed his arms, a concerned look on his face as he glanced sidelong at your sleeping form.  
Nines hadn’t taken that into consideration. Waking up in an unfamiliar environment may be frightening not only because you would most likely be uncomfortable here, but also because you were sick and weakened, your mind clouded by fever. His LED turned red for a moment at the thought of you scared and upset because of this decision. The light simmered to yellow and then slowly back to blue as he worked out solutions.  
“She has her uncle, as well as the Chloe’s, as long as one is here when she awakes she won’t be afraid. We can also leave a voice message on her phone or she can call us for an explanation if she doesn’t understand. She’ll be alright, Gavin. You have to trust her. She’s an adult.” Nines stepped into the room and rested his hand on his husband’s bicep, “She’s going to be okay.” Gavin nodded.  
Nines led Gavin from the room quietly, nodding his thanks to Elijah as they left. It was obvious that Gavin was hesitant to leave, and Elijah could understand why. You had endeared yourself to all of them. It was no secret that Gavin sees you as the kid he missed out on having and now to see you sick for the first time, and horribly sick at that, is probably terrifying to him; like a new parent with an infant. Elijah sat in the reading chair in the guest room, figuring he’d be there when you awoke, but for now, he pulled out a tablet and began working on some things.  
___  
Gavin drove when they left the house, claiming he needed a distraction from the fact that they had just abandoned you with his older brother. Nines sat quietly beside him, glancing out at the side mirror every now and again, but never to the other man in the car. It was obvious that both of them were uncomfortable with having left you behind with Elijah but it wasn’t like they had much choice. When the silence was broken, it was by Gavin.  
“What happened yesterday Nines?” Gavin sighed, momentarily shifting his gaze to the android beside him and then back to the road.  
“The girl we both consider to be our daughter developed aggressive pneumonia over night and passed out during her press release then we had to take her to the hospital,” Nines mumbled factually, staring out the window.  
“I know that but…” Gavin hesitated for a moment before pressing, “I know you’re constantly monitoring my vitals and I know you can see hers too. Wasn’t there anything telling you something was wrong?”  
Nines stiffened, “I…I…my HUD was filled with notifications. I knew she was sick and that her fever was worsening but I…I panicked. I let her go up on that stage and could see her deteriorating. I could see her getting worse and the inevitability of what was going to happen and the warnings cluttering my vision but I panicked and let her go.” He was shaking, just ever so slightly, and his LED was red.  
Gavin had to double take to make sure he was seeing things right, “Hey, Nines, babe. It’s okay.” He reached over and put his hand on Nines’ thigh, “I should’ve stopped her in the morning. I could’ve called off that press release as soon as we had gotten there. I saw how bad she was doing and I didn’t do anything either. We aren’t perfect.”  
“She relies on us, Gavin.”  
“You’re right, she does. But neither of us have ever done this pseudo-parenting thing we’re doing. There wasn’t a kid before her, Nines. We never had to develop those parental instincts that just tell you that something is wrong and you need to protect the kid,” Gavin explained, “We’re doing our best and that’s all she asks for. Hell, she doesn’t even ask for it, sometimes she’s annoyed with it because we get overprotective.” He shook his head to clear his to thoughts, “What I’m trying to say is that it’s okay to screw up, as long as we help clean up the mess afterwards.”  
Nines relaxed a bit, looking over to Gavin who was shooting him sympathetic looks, and nodded his head, “You would think it’d be easier because she’s a young adult and we’ve been doing this for a year.”  
Gavin chuckled as he placed his hand back on the wheel and turned into the DPD parking lot, “Young and dumb. Kids her age think they’re invincible, they push their limits and insist they’re okay even when they aren’t.” He parked the car and took Nines’ hand in his, “I remember being her age. I was just like her. Hell, she’s a lot like ‘Lij too, the more I think about it. We were reckless in our twenties, always insisting on doing more than we could handle.” He kissed Nines’ hand, “She’s gonna be just fine, big guy.”  
A small smile crossed Nines’ lips, “She’s strong,” He agreed, “She’s going to be fine.”  
They locked eyes for a quiet moment, finding love and comfort in each other before silently agreeing it was time to go to work. In perfect sync they exited the car, and joined each other by the trunk. Nines wrapped his arm around Gavin’s waist, pulling him close to his side, as they walked into the precinct. Gavin leaned into his husband’s touch, looking up to see his LED was a calm blue after their discussion. He reached up and kissed the android’s cheek, enjoying the momentary blue blush that colored his cheeks before fading again seconds later.  
As soon as they got through the entrance, Nines and Gavin were attacked by reporters, asking for updates in Detroit’s latest hero and where she was. Nines effortlessly informed them that you had contracted pneumonia and were staying with family as you recovered, which wasn’t wrong. While it wasn’t quite the whole truth, it was enough to placate most of the reporters. A few strays asked questions aimed towards their relationship with each other and with you, to which Nines shot down and asked them to leave the precinct. Once the reporters left and they made it to their desks, Nines was once again subject to questioning.  
“How is she?” Connor asked quickly as he approached Nines’ desk. His hands were clasped against his chest and his LED was yellow, not that they needed it to know how worried that android was.  
Nines sighed, “She’ll recover. Officer (L/Name) developed a rather severe case of pneumonia and won’t be back for at least ten days,” He told his brother.  
Connor relaxed, his shoulders sagging a bit as he let out a relieved sigh, “I was so worried when I saw what happened but I didn’t want to contact you in case I distracted you,” He smiled slightly, “If there’s any way I can help please let me know.”  
“Of course, Connor. You will be the first one we contact,” Nines reassured him.  
“Where is she now? Not alone I hope.”  
Nines shook his head, “Of course not. She’s with family,” He answered vaguely, knowing better than to tell anyone who she was with, “They’ll take care of her until we can pick her up in the evening and take her home.  
Connor nodded, “As long as she isn’t alone. If I know her half as well as I think I do then I know she wouldn’t be taking care of herself.”  
Nines nodded, “I hate to cut this conversation short, brother, but I have yesterday’s work to catch up on since we were unable to return after the incident.”  
“Of course, I’ll leave you to it.”  
Connor turned and left, leaving Nines and Gavin to sort through the stack of work they had left behind. They had a lot to catch up on after spending the past few days with you in the hospital, most of the paperwork had to do with you falling into the lake, but the newer stuff concerned the press release. Apparently, the news had gone berserk after you had fallen on stage, undeniably sick as a dog. Some reporters were claiming the police department was abusing their officers, not allowing them sick leave and forcing you to come in. They would need to provide a counter statement, along with Fowler and a few other officers from the precinct to debunk the rumor. Of course, they’d most likely want a statement from you once you were well again but that would have to wait. For now, Gavin and Nines needed to get back to work.  
___  
You stirred slightly, the light streaming in through the window dancing across your skin as you turned and settled atop your eyes. A low groan rumbled in your chest as you were pulled out of your slumber and back into the waking world. There was still an ache in your chest and a distinct urge to cough, as well as the heaviness that came with a fever. Slowly, your eyes fluttered open, taking their sweet time to adjust to the golden ray of light shining right into them. Eventually, you were able to see and look around the unfamiliar room, a bolt of panic shooting through you as you realized you didn’t know where you were.  
“You’re awake. And here I was thinking I would need to wake you up so you could take your medicine,” Elijah smiled down at you, setting the tablet he had been playing with aside. You made a small confused noise in the back of your throat, which was followed by three harsh coughs, “Gavin and Nines brought you to me for the day so they could make sure you were being taken care of while they are at work,” He picked up the two pill bottles off of the table, getting out a single pill from each bottle before trying to hand them to you.  
You looked at his proffered hand dumbly, like you had never seen pills in your life, then rolled over, intending to fall back asleep. Everything hurt, especially your head and you wanted nothing to do with consciousness right now. Pulling the covers up to your chin, you grumbled quietly and shut your eyes, burying yourself back into the warmth of the bed. You still weren’t quite sure where you were, but Elijah was here so you must’ve been safe.  
There was a slight tap on your shoulder, “Duckling, you have to take your medicine or you won’t get better.” You didn’t respond only burying yourself further into the covers, “(Y/N), I am not Nines. I’m not going to stick my fingers in your mouth to shove your pills down your throat. You can go back to sleep as soon as you take the pills.”  
“No,” You whined, pulling the comforter over your head to block him our further.  
“You are an adult,” Elijah warned, “I’m not playing games with you. Take your pills and then you can sleep, I won’t bother you again.” When you didn’t respond again he growled in frustration, “This isn’t funny.” He crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently, “If you’re going to behave like a child then I will treat you like a child.”  
You groaned and rolled over, “Go away, ‘Lijah.”  
“One.” You grumbled a bit at what you thought was a fake threat, “Two.” He sounded mad, his tone firm and warning. Maybe it wasn’t a fake threat. “Three.”  
Suddenly, Elijah was on top of you, wrestling the covers away from your face. You thrashed, albeit weakly, trying to shove the larger man off you. At the time though, you were no fight for him as you coughed violently and felt like any strength you had was gone. Elijah had torn the covers off the bed and pinned your hands with his, sitting on your thighs. He looked angry.  
“Chloe!” He shouted for one of his androids.  
When one of her entered the room she seemed to have read Elijah’s mind and gently took your wrists from him, continuing to hold you in place with a gentle smile on her lips. With the pills in one hand Elijah grabbed your cheeks with the other to pry your jaw open and jam the pills into the back of your throat. Once he got his fingers safely from your mouth, he held your mouth shut staring down at you. Chloe released your wrists.  
“Swallow them and don’t you dare even think of spitting them out,” He threatened with a dark glare.  
You swallowed the pills dry, tears welling up in your eyes as they scratched at your already sore throat. Elijah slowly climbed off of the bed, releasing you from his grip, and turning to leave the room. Free, you sat up and let the tears fall, sniffling singularly before crossing your legs. All you wanted was to go home, for Gavin or Nines to pull you into their side as you snuggled into them; they always made you feel better.  
Elijah froze halfway to the door when he heard you sniffle, “Oh duckling,” He turned to face you, “I’m sorry.”  
“I just want Gavin and Nines,” You brought your fist up to your face, wiping at the tears hopelessly, “They’re not mean to me.”  
He withered a bit, he had made a mistake, “I know, but they’re at work duckling,” He walked back to the edge of the bed, “They’re coming back for you tonight though.”  
You whimpered and held your arms out to Elijah. Whether you wanted a hug or to be picked up he didn’t know, but he remembered Nines warning him that you may not let go of him. He debated what he was going to do for a moment, looking up to the Chloe who remained in the room. She seemed to urge him to pick you up, like a father would his child, to comfort you. Relenting to your soft whimpers, Elijah lifted you up into his arms, allowing you to cling to him.  
“Are you still tired or should we get you something to eat?” He hummed quietly in your ear.  
You didn’t respond but that was okay, Elijah had already decided you needed to eat before going back to sleep. He motioned for Chloe to follow him, softly asking her to start making some soup for you. In the meantime he would take you to the entertainment room and put on a movie or something that would keep you occupied and your thoughts off of your dads. He knew you were just as serious about your work as both Connor and Nines, and surely it wouldn’t be good if you would dwell on the fact that you were here and not there. When he tried to set you down you wouldn’t let go, much like Nines had warned him, so instead he sat on the couch with you. You’d be fine with him.  
___  
Elijah answered the door himself for once, knowing who was going to be on the other side. The knocks on the door had been hard, rapid, and anxious and he couldn’t help but smile; of course his brother would be antsy to have you back. With you well supported on his hip, Elijah opened the door with a soft smile, enjoying the rare sight of Gavin and Nines on his front porch. Gavin barged into the foyer without a greeting while Nines politely apologized for the detective’s behavior and stepped into the foyer.  
“How was she? Good I hope?” Nines asked.  
Elijah shut the door and readjusted you in his arms, “As you can see I fell victim to picking her up. The morning was eventful, but after that she just drifted in and out of sleep and was quiet. She had chicken noodle soup for lunch but I haven’t managed to get her to agree to dinner tonight.” He smiled down at you, half asleep against his shoulder and not aware of who he was talking to, “She missed you both dearly, asked for you more than once.”  
Gavin held out his arms so Elijah could pass you to him, which he did gratefully, “Thanks for watching over her ‘Lij, we appreciate it.” You immediately clung to him, humming appreciatively.  
“It’s not a problem; you know she’s welcome here anytime. I’m assuming I’ll have her for the next few days until she’s able to take care of herself?”  
Nines nodded in confirmation, “We don’t have anyone else to watch her. Connor has offered but he doesn’t have off in the next few days,” He leaned over to gently tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear, “You mentioned this morning had been eventful?”  
Elijah frowned, “She refused to take her medicine,” He explained hesitantly, “I had to force them into her mouth. The experience was unpleasant for both of us.”  
The android frowned as well, “Yes, well, I had to do that the other night and will probably have to do it again tonight. Hopefully she’ll be more cooperative in the morning.”  
“I would hope so. She’s far more stubborn than Gavin was as a child.”  
“I wasn’t that bad,” Gavin scoffed, “You just won’t let go of the one time I bit you when I was like four years old.”  
“I still have a scar.”  
“Scar my ass. Let’s go Nines. Thanks again Eli; we’ll see you in the morning,” Gavin waved and turned to leave the house, readjusting you as he went.  
Nines rolled his eyes, “Good night, Mr. Kamski.”  
Nines held the door open for his human so he wouldn’t accidently drop you. Gavin was talking to you softly, eliciting quiet hums and squeaks from you in response. As suspected, when he tried to set you down in the car, you wouldn’t let go of him, forcing him to sit with you in the back. He just smiled and enjoyed your clinginess for now, knowing he wouldn’t get this opportunity later. Nines got in the driver’s seat, smiling into the rearview mirror at his two favorite humans. You were in Gavin’s lap, your head resting on his shoulder while he rested his head against yours, rubbing mindless shapes into your back. No doubt he would also be asleep by time they arrived home.  
He was right. By time they arrived home Nines was carrying both you and Gavin into the house. Though that wasn’t an issue for him seeing as he was an android. The only thing he dreaded was waking you up so you could take your medicine. Last night had been a battle, albeit short lived due to his strength but a battle nonetheless, and if this morning had also been a fight tonight was bound to be the same. Gavin woke when Nines had set you and him down on your bed, sitting up and yawning. The android motioned for him to be quiet, seeing as you had let go of him. As soon as Gavin was out of bed, Nines took the pill bottles on your nightstand and popped the lid off, taking out a single pill from each before recapping the orange bottles.  
“(Y/N), you have to take you medicine,” He cooed softly, sitting down on the bed, causing the mattress to sink under his weight, “Wake up.” He used his free hand to jostle your shoulder a bit.  
You groaned quietly, muttering a nearly inaudible, “Huh?”  
“Can you sit up for me?” He asked, already moving to help you up. You complied easily with the android supporting your weight. He motioned for Gavin to grab the water bottle on the side table and when he did, Nines continued, “Could you open your mouth?” With your eyes shut, you opened your mouth, leaning heavily into the android. He took the opportunity to place the pills on the center of your tongue, taking the water bottle from Gavin and holding it to your lips, “Sip.” You did as told obediently, swallowing the pills far easier than he had expected you to. “Good girl. Now go to sleep, we have to wake up early in the morning.” Nines kissed your temple and laid you back against your pillows. As soon as you were down, you were asleep once again.  
___  
The next couple of days went off without a hitch. Elijah watched over you and you were slowly coming back to yourself, much more tired, but yourself. The other night you had been making dumb jokes with Gavin, but now you were stretched out beneath Nines’ desk, coughing every now and again but otherwise sleeping. He had laid out a thick blanket, a small pillow and another thinner blanket for you to cover yourself with. Elijah had called last night, telling them there was an emergency, something had come up with Cyberlife and he wouldn’t be able to watch you today. So Gavin and Nines took you with them but now had to hide you from Fowler and the others so they wouldn’t think you were fine to work. Not that you looked fine to work, you still looked half dead and sounded it too, but you were in the precinct.  
“How’s (Y/N) doing?” Connor asked, approaching Nines, “It’s been a few days. Are the antibiotics working?”  
“She’s doing just fine,” Nines responded a happy tone, “It seems with every day she gets a little stronger and is a little more herself.” You coughed weakly and Nines scooted his chair a little closer to his desk.  
Connor squinted suspiciously, “Nines, what was that?” Seeing no point in lying to his brother, Nines rolled just far enough away from his desk for Connor to see you asleep at his feet, “What is she doing here?”  
Gavin looked up with a death glare, “You can’t fucking tell anyone she’s here or they’ll expect her to work,” He hissed, “Eli couldn’t take her today so we brought her with us.”  
“I won’t tell, but isn’t there anywhere better than the floor?” He asked as Nines moved to block you from view again, obviously concerned.  
“I’m afraid she’ll have to stay there for now if we don’t want the others seeing her,” Nines informed his brother. He looked down with a soft smile, “Although she seems quite content to hug my feet.” You had been hugging his feet as he kept them warm to act as a space heater for you.  
“Connor?” You murmured, sitting up and peering past Nines. Your timing for waking up was all too convenient.  
The android smiled, “Yes it’s me, now go back to sleep kitten. You need your rest.”  
“I’m fine,” You waved a hand at him dismissively, coughing into your other fist, “They could’ve left me at home today.”  
Nines scoffed, “Leaving you at home was not an option and we all know it. You would never take care of yourself properly not to mention that you wouldn’t let go of me this morning and were begging us not to leave you.”  
A blush colored your cheeks as you looked away from the androids, “I was still tired and emotionally compromised.”  
“And you’re not tired now?” He smirked, already knowing the answer.  
You deflated a bit, sighing, “I’m exhausted and I fucking hate it. I just want to be better already.”  
Nines carefully ran his hand through your hair, “Five more days of antibiotics and then you’ll see the doctor again.”  
“And a month more of fatigue,” You complained.  
He frowned because he knew you were right, “Yes, well, there’s no way around that one so you might as well sleep while you can. No use in wasting energy now when you’ll need it for when you come back to work.” You nodded and laid back down, turning to face Gavin’s desk and fall back asleep, “She’s still very cooperative, but it’ll be interesting to see how unwilling she’ll become in the next few days.”  
“I’m gonna kick her ass if she decides she doesn’t want to listen,” Gavin huffed, “She’s going to rest and get better whether she wants to or not.”  
“I see,” Connor nodded, “I’ll leave you two to work then.”  
The morning passed slowly. Nines kept you quiet and by quiet it meant every time you woke he carefully lulled you back to sleep. You were compliant, but mostly because Nines was warm and you hadn’t slept well last night. Gavin had managed to slip you a mug of hot chocolate from the break room at one point which helped keep you from complaining. While you didn’t cough as frequently now, it seemed the fits became worse as they became spread out and infrequent. You wouldn’t cough once for an hour but then you’d cough violently for a few minutes as if you were choking. It was increasingly difficult for Nines and Gavin to casually cover the noise and make sure you went unfound. When lunch rolled around you were completely out of it, asleep with your hand covering your eyes, a slight blush dusting your cheeks, and mouth wide open. Nines sighed as he looked down at you; you didn’t seem to be faring well.  
“Nines,” Connor called as he came up behind his brother, placing his hands on the back of the chair, “The Lieutenant and I are taking a half day today and heading home. If I may, we could take (Y/N) with us and you could come pick her up after work,” He offered.  
Gavin looked up and jumped on the offer, “Please. I think Fowler is about to slap us with an investigation and we can’t leave her here.”  
Nines nodded, “Gavin is right. If you could take her for now we’d be very thankful.”  
Connor beamed, “Of course! It’s not a problem at all.”  
Hank meandered up and placed his hand on Connor’s shoulder heavily, shaking the android slightly, “So are we taking the kid or is she confined to the precinct floor?” He joked lightly.  
Nines scooted his chair back and knelt down to rouse you, giving Hank his answer. The android carefully shook your shoulder with practiced intensity, knowing exactly how to wake you. However, you just grumbled and tried to roll over. Once he knew you were surely awake, Nines pulled you out from under his desk and lifted you so you stood. You leaned against him, wrapping your arms around him to hug him close as you mumbled something unhappily. You never did like having your naps disturbed.  
Nines pet your hair gently, “Officer, Connor and Lieutenant Anderson have offered to take you home with them for the rest of the day, so you’re going to go with them. Behave, alright?”  
“You say that as if I have a death wish,” You joked quietly, still half asleep as he passed you to Hank.  
“Yes, well, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you did,” Nines shot back with a half-smile.  
Gavin stood and ruffled your hair as Hank started to lead you to the doors, “Be good, kid. Take a nap with Sumo or something. We’ll see you later.”  
Hank kept his hands firmly planted on your shoulders, using them to guide you through the precinct doors and out to his car. Connor trailed behind Hank, smiling happily at the fact that he’d have the chance to take care of you and help out. You were slowly waking up now that you weren’t stuck laying beneath Nines’ desk, becoming more aware that he and Gavin had passed you off to Hank and Connor. While you appreciated the change of view you weren’t quite sure this was something you wanted; you just knew Connor was going to try and baby you. You were sat in the back while Hank drove and Connor sat in the passenger seat.  
“So how are you feeling, kid?” Hank asked.  
You shrugged, “Good I guess, tired, but I’m always tired pneumonia or not,” You answered honestly.  
“Not gonna die while you’re in my house, are ya?”  
You laughed lightly, “I sure hope not.”  
“Good because I think Nines and Gavin would actually try to kill me if anything happened while you were with us. They love you, y’know that, right?” Hank asked.  
You scoffed, “Trust me, I know. They practically smother me.” You rolled your eyes, “But I love them back. They’ve pretty much adopted me and in a way I’ve adopted them as well. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”  
The rest of the car ride passed in amicable silence. You stared out the window watching familiar neighborhoods pass by. Slowly, the city streets became more residential and you began to take in the new sites of where the Anderson’s lived. Hank pulled into the driveway of a nice enough ranch house with a small porch and a brown door. You decided it fit Hank’s personality well as you followed him and Connor through the doorway. Sumo came barreling towards you and you kneeled down, allowing the Saint Bernard to barrel you over onto the ground. He stood over you, licking slobbery puppy kisses all across your neck and face as you giggled happily, burying your hands in his fur.  
“Sumo! Long time no see big boy,” You laughed, pushing him away from you to sit up.  
“Damn dog likes you better than he likes me,” Hank grumbled, as Connor helped you up, “You know the layout, kid. I’ll be in my room. Connor look after her.”  
“Yes, Hank,” Connor nodded shortly.  
You rolled your eyes as you went to flop on the couch, “It’s not like I’m about to keel over any second. I’m barely even coughing anymore, I’m just waiting to get cleared at this point.”  
Connor moved into the kitchen, “Just because you are healing does not mean you are no longer ill. You still have excess fluid in your lungs, so please, do not operate under the illusion that you are well, because you’re not.”  
“Wow, Connor. One more time for the people in the back,” You joked light heartedly, turning to see what he was doing.  
He smiled and chuckled, “You’re still sick,” He repeated in simpler terms, “Happy now?”  
Connor came back to the couch, pressing a mug of tea into your hands and kissing your forehead, “Oh c’mon, don’t you start smothering me too.” You smiled and leaned against him, “I’ve already got one overly protective robo-detective on my ass.” A yawn escaped you.  
“Drink your tea and take a nap,” Connor instructed as he stood, running his hand through your hair tenderly, “I’ve got something I need to discuss with Hank. I expect you to be asleep by time I return.”  
You really rolled your eyes this time, a frown settling across your features, “You’ve gotta be kidding me, Con. A nap is the last thing I want right now. I’ve been sleeping for the past five days.”  
“I’m aware,” He sighed, “But as your best friend I still care about your wellbeing. You are fatigued and sick and the best way to recover is to sleep.” Connor walked away, turning his back towards you as he went to go talk to Hank.  
The reminder was unwelcome and you huffed, setting your untouched tea on the coffee table, “Fine. You’re just as bad as Gavin and Nines.”  
Although your voice was quiet Connor heard it. He paused in the doorway, hand on the frame as he turned to look at you again. You had already laid down and rolled to face the back of the couch. Sumo was pawing at your back and whining, but ended up just climbing on top of you to lay awkwardly, half on you and half on the couch. The android sighed. It wasn’t his intention to upset you. Not knowing what to do, he turned back and continued on his way to Hank’s room.  
You clung to Sumo, his weight comforting as tears slipped down your cheeks, “They just don’t get it Sumo,” You whispered to the Saint Bernard, “Each day eats at me a little more. I can’t just keep laying here; I’m going to lose it.”  
The large bear of a dog calmly licked away your tears, trying to soothe your aching heart with kisses and cuddles. What did we ever do to deserve dogs? You buried your hands in his fur, rubbing small circles into his shoulders with your fingertips. It was slow and soothing, everything you needed to rid yourself of any anxiety that had found its way into your chest since you left the precinct. Thinking about it, you almost wished you were still there, asleep at Nines’ feet under his desk. At least then you’d be with Gavin and Nines. It seemed Sumo was taking Connor’s somewhat indirect order and fell asleep against you. As much as you wanted to be awake, to do something other than sleep, the weight of the dog on top of you along with his warmth and steady breathing seemed to create a lullaby, lulling you into yet another light sleep.  
___  
It was dark and shadowy here. But you weren’t quite sure where “here” was, only that you were chained to something. Ebony figures moved around you, their footsteps making muffled sounds as they walked, circling you like sharks. You fought against your restraints, tugging and kicking but nothing worked. The rattle of heavy metal chains was drowned out by laughter, loud and raucous. Men. The figures were men.  
“Be a pretty little whore now and sit still, daddy has a lot of friends with him and he expects you to behave.”  
Joe.  
The light flicked on, momentarily blinding you. When your eyes adjusted and you blinked them open once more, you found yourself chained to the desk in the evidence room. They had found you. They had tracked you all the way to Detroit and come after you and now you were helpless. You tried to scream for someone, anyone, but there was a gag in your mouth. You cried, trying to sob but all that came out was muffled noises.  
Joe grabbed your face roughly, “Oh yes princess, we found you. Our favorite little spy that got us in a whole lot of trouble. And now, we’re here to get payback.” He brought out a pocket knife and flicked it open, bringing it close to your face.  
___  
You shot up with a start, practically throwing Sumo to the ground with the force. Tears spilled from your eyes as you gasped and sobbed. It was just a nightmare. He’s gone. It was just a nightmare, you tried to tell yourself to no avail. You gasped harshly, clutching at your chest with one hand and your cheek with the other. There was no blood; there was not cut. You were fine. But your mind didn’t want to believe that. You were spiraling and you were spiraling quickly. Each gasp for breath was short and painful, tearing a ragged cough from your throat. You lurched off the couch, throwing yourself to your hands and knees on the ground as you tried to breathe, but the coughing and hyperventilating were making it impossible.  
“(Y/N)!” Connor shouted from somewhere nearby. You were suddenly on your back and the android was hovering above you, “You need to calm down.” You shook your head, only coughing more with each movement, only getting tiny breaths in. You felt like you were dying. “Hank!”  
“What?” The Lieutenant emerged from his room and peered over the couch, “Holy shit, what’s going on?! She’s turning blue.”  
“Start the car, we need to go. Now!” Connor ordered as Hank ran off to go get his keys and get in the car. Connor leaned back over you, taking your face in his hands so you’d stop tossing, “I’m going to pick you up, okay? We’re going to take you to the hospital.”  
You nodded in understanding and felt Connor slip his arms under you and lift you from the ground. He rushed out to the car where Hank was already waiting, deftly sliding you into the back seat before jumping into the front. As soon as the door shut Hank was peeling out of the driveway and speeding to the hospital. To imagine you’d be back for a third time in the matter of a week. This turn of events did nothing to calm the anxiety attack and you were cold, horribly cold as you continued gasping for air and coughing. This it is, you lamented internally, this is how I die. I’m going to suffocate. You shut your eyes, bracing against the agony in your chest.  
___  
Soft voices filled the room, waking you slowly. A soft groan left your throat as you became aware of the ache in your entire upper body. A nasal cannula was draped over your ears and providing a steady flow of oxygen. You blinked your eyes open slowly, recognizing the pristine ceiling of a hospital room. You turned your head to face a few of the voices, finding Hank and Connor who smiled down at you, then turned the other way to find Nines and Gavin.  
“Feeling better kid? You scared the shit out of me and Connor,” Hank asked gruffly.  
You could barely remember what had occurred though, “My chest hurts now. What exactly happened?” You reached up to scratch your cheek, feeling the phantom feeling of cool steel drawing across it.  
“I think you had a nightmare,” Connor answered, “I was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a few reports and checking on you. You had been asleep peacefully last I had checked but then I heard Sumo yelp so I came to check again and you were on the ground.” He paused, looking down as he fiddled with his coin, “It didn’t look like you were really breathing between how hard you were coughing and hyperventilating. Your lips were turning blue from the lack of oxygen so we brought you to the hospital.”  
You nodded as parts of the nightmare came back to you, “It was a nightmare,” You said softly, “A bad one.”  
“Must’ve been,” Gavin sighed, reaching out to rest his hand on top of yours, “You gotta stop doing this to us, kid. I swear, next time I hear you’ve been hospitalized I’m gonna have a heart attack.”  
You sighed, “It’s not like I want to be here. At this rate they’re going to think I’m a frequent flyer.”  
“Hate to break it to you kid but you’ve been here three times in seven days or so. You are a frequent flyer, especially since this most likely won’t be the last seeing as you’re a cop,” Hank laughed, “Don’t worry, when Gavin and I were your age we were both considered frequent flyers too.”  
“Yeah, but three times in a single week?”  
“Not my fault you decided to take a dip in a frozen lake,” Hank teased and you just scoffed.  
Nines stood, gently patting your knee, “Luckily, they don’t feel the need to keep you for observations seeing as that as soon as your anxiety attack stopped you were able to breath normally again. They’re letting you come home tonight. I’ll go let them know you’re awake.”  
“Thank you, Nines,” You yawned, shifting in the uncomfortable hospital bed.  
As Nines left, Connor helped you adjust the bed so you were sitting up. You talked quietly with the three men in your room. Gavin tried asking about the nightmare but you immediately shot him down with a shake of your head and a quiet “I don’t want to talk about it,” which only made him sigh. Nines returned shortly with the doctor who had diagnosed you five days prior. He jokingly expressed his amusement at seeing you again so soon but then gave you a rundown of your condition. While you were doing better than before and the antibiotics were working, he had decided to take you off the pain medicine and put you on a cough suppressant instead. He reminded you that you weren’t supposed to strain yourself, no work, and to avoid anything that may trigger another anxiety attack, to which you had to resist rolling your eyes seeing as nightmares aren’t exactly avoidable. When he was done he told you that you were free to go, and left the room.  
You practically tore the cannula off of your face and stood, though your legs immediately felt like jelly. Nines caught you before you could collapse, scooping you up into his arms, “Thank Nines,” You sighed, letting your head thump against his chest.  
Nine craned his neck a bit to kiss the top of your head, “Let’s get you home.”  
You grumbled quietly as Nines once again carried you from the hospital. Connor and Hank followed Nines and Gavin out, bidding you and them good night before heading to their own car. Nines set you down to let you get into the car yourself, to which you easily slid into the back. The entire drive home was quiet. Nines and Gavin tried to talk to you, but you, being moody and upset, elected to stare out the window and pretend you didn’t hear them. Needless to say, Gavin was getting angry.  
Gavin slammed both of his hands against the dashboard startling you, “We’re in the same damn car, greenie. I know you can fucking hear us. Stop acting like a brat and talk to us like the goddamn adult you claim to be!” You looked away from the window and into the rearview mirror, meeting Gavin’s eyes, “Why are you being so fucking difficult?”  
You shrugged petulantly, and mumbled, “I don’t know.”  
“Bullshit you don’t know! What is going on with you?” He barked.  
“I don’t want to talk about it.”  
“You never want to talk about it. Well guess what. That option went out the window when you decided to ignore us!”  
You turned back to the window, right hand grabbing at your left wrist as you avoided eye contact, “I feel so fucking useless right now,” You grit out, “I feel so goddamn useless and I’m tired of it. All I’ve been doing for five days is sleeping and watching the days pass in a fucking haze and I hate it. And of course as soon as I’m out of my practically drug induced coma my anxiety rears its head and goes fucking haywire!” You growled out, nearly shouting. “I’m falling apart at the fucking seams right now!” You were shaking uncontrollably.  
“That’s no reason to lash out at us!” Gavin snapped.  
“Both of you stop this instant. Yelling will not get us anywhere,” Nines interjected calmly, “I think it may be best if we talk about this when we get home.”  
That shut you and Gavin up, allowing Nines to properly concentrate on the road for the rest of the ride. When he pulled into the driveway and parked, Gavin was the first one out, slamming the car door behind him. Nines was slower, going as far as to open your door and help you up to make sure you weren’t going to fall again. His hand took up its usual spot at the small of your back, the slight pressure and warmth reassuring. As soon as you walked into the house you were greeted by Sunshine who whimpered at your feet. Gavin had probably yelled at her. Bending down, you scooped the golden retriever up in your arms, flipping her onto her back like a baby with some effort.  
“Hi Sun-bun,” You whispered to her, smiling when she craned her neck to kiss your cheek, “Yeah, I know. I missed you too.”  
Nines let his hand drag up your back until it rested on your shoulder, “Couch,” He commanded softly, “I’ll go get Gavin,” He paused, “And also tell him not to yell at Sunshine again.”  
You nodded and walked further into the house with the android, though he went towards his shared bedroom and you went to sit on the couch with Sunshine in your lap. She cried quietly, kissing your face plenty as you rubbed her chest and belly, cooing to her. There was the quiet sounds of what Gavin had once called a “marital scuffle” in their bedroom. Now they were fighting. Great. You just fucked everything up tonight hadn’t you? Nines came back and scooted you into the middle of the couch, causing Sunshine to jump out of your lap as he and Gavin sat to either side of you.  
“You’re upset,” Nines started carefully, “Without getting frustrated, why?”  
You looked up at Nines before sighing, “Being sick has screwed up my entire life. I’m not happy with just sleeping through the day and not knowing what’s going on around me.”  
“How,” Gavin paused and took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, “How can we help?”  
You shook your head, “I just want to go home. And not here home. Home home. Back with my mom, back in New York city, back to where I wasn’t a fuck up even if they just used me.” Tears welled up in your eyes.  
“I’m sorry, but you have to stay here,” Nines apologized, taking your hand in his, “It’s not the worst place to be. We’ll get through this together.”  
The tears spilled down your cheeks, “I hate this,” You whispered weakly, your voice cracking, “I want to go home.”  
Before Gavin could even begin to reach for you like he’d normally do when you were crying, you had crawled into Nines’ lap and buried your face against his neck. The android’s LED turned yellow as he wrapped his arms around you and began to quietly comfort you. Gavin froze, hands halfway to you before he dropped them into his lap as he remembered he had yelled at you. He had yelled and swore all because you were upset, and now you turned to Nines instead of him. Deep down that hurt, and it showed in the heartbroken expression on his face. Sunshine was whining again, nosing at your back and pawing at Nines’ legs. Your tears didn’t last long but they had left you hiccupping against the android’s chest miserably.  
“Is today over yet?” You asked quietly.  
“It’s over if you want it to be,” He answered, leaning down to kiss your head, “I can take you to your room if you want?”  
“Please.”  
Nines nodded and stood, holding you in his arms. He was slow as he walked to your bedroom and laid you down on the bed, watching as you rolled onto your side to face away from him. Sunshine came trotting into the room and jumped straight onto the bed to snuggle up against your chest. With a sigh, Nines began to gently run his hand through your hair, smoothing a few unruly strands. It seemed like you curled in on yourself, trying to avoid the contact in favor a being alone.  
“Will you at least take your medicine before I leave?” Your partner asked, already gather the pill bottles in his free hand, “You can’t get better without them.” You rolled to face Nines and unburied a hand from your blankets to accept the pills. When he placed them in your hands you threw the pills back and dry swallowed them, “Thank you. You know you can talk to us, right?” You nodded, “This entire ordeal has been taxing on all of us in different ways. We’re just worried about you and it’s not because you’re being reckless but because this illness has been tough on you.”  
You reached out and took his hand, “I just want to be okay again.”  
“Five days,” He reminded you, “Five days and you can return to work and we can pretend everything is back to normal until it truly is. Now go to sleep, Gavin and I will be leaving you home alone tomorrow.”  
“Can you take me to Uncle Eli? I don’t want to be alone,” You asked quietly.  
“I’ll call him tonight and see if he can have you over. Good night, (Y/N).” His hand slipped from yours.  
Nines turned off your lights and shut the door as he left your room. Gavin had migrated from the couch to sitting petulantly in the kitchen counter, taking small swigs from a bottle of whiskey. Oxy was resting on his lap as he let his legs swing slightly. The cat meowed, reminding his owners that he and Iggy had yet to be fed and Nines was quick to dole out 1/4th cup of dry cat food to each of them. Gavin hadn’t moved when Oxy jumped from his lap, still staring off into space and taking another shot from the bottle.  
“Gavin-”  
“I yelled at her Nines. She was upset and I yelled at her and now she hates me.”  
“I doubt she hates you,” The android sighed, moving in between his partner’s legs and taking the bottle from his hands, “Tonight has just been an emotionally charged night.”  
Gavin looked up at his husband before slumping forward to rest his head against the android’s chest, “She always lets me hold her when she cries. She went to you instead and…god dammit I fucked up.” He winced at his own words.  
“Just because she looked for comfort in me this once rather than you doesn’t mean she hates you, love,” Nines reassured him, “I’m sure by tomorrow morning she’ll barely even remember what happened tonight.” Gavin grunted in response, “Now come, do I need to carry you to bed too?” The man simply raised his arms in response and Nines chuckled, lifting him off the counter as if he weighed nothing. “Both of my humans are just large children. She asked if she could stay with Uncle Eli tomorrow.”  
“Uncle?” Gavin looked up with a slightly disgusted face, “How did he manage that one?”  
“Who even knows,” Hummed the android, pressing a kiss to Gavin’s lips, “But that’s unimportant right now,” Hi nipped at Gavin’s jaw.  
Gavin chuckled as he leaned into Nines, “It always comes back to this huh?”  
“Well considering we do this nearly nightly I don’t see why you’re so surprised,” Nines quipped as he tossed his husband onto the bed and shut the lights off, “You’re going to love what I have in mind tonight.”  
___  
You spent the last of your sick days being dropped off at Elijah’s house in the mornings and picked up again in the evenings. You had to argue with your new found uncle about what you could and couldn’t be doing and after enough begging he brought you into his private lab. There, he began to teach you the beginnings of robotics and how he managed to practically create life. Enamored, you spent hours down there with him, only occasionally falling asleep where you sat due to fatigue. Often times you’d wake up slumped against a table, screwdriver in hand and a blanket tossed over your shoulders. It would take you a couple minutes of wandering the house before you’d find Elijah again and he’d take you back to the lab and continue to help you tinker away. The project took the last of your time with you uncle but you didn’t mind. He was keeping you occupied which was exactly what you wanted, and he only encouraging you to sleep when it seemed you really needed it. You appreciated it.  
“Gavin and Nines are pulling up the driveway now,” Elijah told you from the steps of the lab, “I suppose I won’t be seeing you for a while, now will I?”  
You turned to look at him, finding him standing on the last step before the lab, “I guess you’re right,” You sighed, a bit melancholy, “No more wasting time with you.”  
He nodded, “Come on duckling, before Gavin kicks my door in.”  
You set your screwdriver aside and looked down at your little creation, “You think he’s ready?”  
Elijah laughed lightly, “He’s been ready since yesterday morning. You just haven’t stopped messing with him. I’m sure everyone will find him delightful, and if all goes well maybe I’ll find some funding for them and we’ll sell them. We could use the money for your wedding.”  
You couldn’t help but laugh loudly, “Yeah, like my dumb ass is getting married anytime soon,” You scooped your little creation up and set him in your pocket. You stood and strode over to Elijah, pulling him into a hug, “Thanks for taking care of me Uncle Eli.”  
“Anytime, duckling. I’ll miss you,” He wrapped his arms around you and kissed the top of your head, “Next thing we’ll do is get you a good pair of heels so you aren’t so short.”  
You pulled back and slapped his arm, “I’m not that short.” You started up the steps.  
Elijah followed after you, “You’re just barely 5’2”, you’re short.”  
You shook your head and began to rush to the front door, causing Elijah to have to chase after you. You seemed to be in an oddly good mood today, but that probably had something to do with your appointment tomorrow and the promise of returning to work. By time the two of you had made it to the living room Gavin and Nines had already been led in by a Chloe who was coming to retrieve you. She smiled and motioned with her head to the two detectives standing behind her. You must’ve caught her off guard though because you swept her up in a hug and she let out a small, startled noise. A laugh escaped you as you set her down again and rushed up to your partners.  
“Someone’s happy,” Gavin smirked, reaching out to ruffle your hair, “How was your day kiddo?”  
You smiled and breathed out, “It was good. It was really good.”  
Nines returned your smile softly, “It seems you were incredibly active today. You must be exhausted. Let’s get you home. We have an early morning tomorrow and then if you’re cleared you’ll return to the precinct with us.”  
The instant Nines had said the word “exhausted” it struck you that you hadn’t slept all day, your jittery, excited energy keeping you going, but now it was catching up to you. There was a visible slump in your shoulders as you nodded. Home sounded nice. You gratefully accepted your jacket from a Chloe and thanked her quietly as you pulled it on. Nines wrapped his arm around your shoulders and began leading you out of the house, bidding Elijah a good night. Gavin shook his brother’s hand and kissed Chloe’s cheek before following after you and Nines.  
Once you had gotten settled into the car you almost instantly fell asleep to the rumble of the engine. Gavin laughed softly at your sudden tiredness, but let you nap for the time being. He and Nines talked quietly to pass the time on the road, even if it was only about twenty minutes. Everything felt very comfortable, warm, and familiar. Together they had built a family; they had found each other, chose to enjoy one another’s company, and searched for comfort in each other. It was a feeling that warmed each of your hearts.  
Gavin was the one to wake you when you arrived home, reminding you that you still had to at least eat dinner before you could go back to sleep. You sighed and moved to get up but Gavin stopped you, scooping you up in his arms instead to carry you inside. Quiet, half-asleep complaints left you but you didn’t try to escape from him. The heavy feeling of fatigue weighed on your shoulders after having such a long day when you were still technically recovering. Nines immediately moved to the kitchen to prepare dinner while Gavin sat down on the couch, turning on a movie to preoccupy you both with, though you didn’t watch so much as just try to steal all of Gavin’s warmth.  
Nines gently pried you away from Gavin so you sat on the couch beside him. He then placed bowls of chili in either of your laps and encouraged you both to eat while he cleaned up. Sometimes it felt like Nines did everything around the house, but then you remembered that he was an android and you and Gavin were pretty much useless meat-sacks. When Nines came back to clear your bowls you climbed back into Gavin’s lap and rested your head against his chest. His arms came around you to hold you close.  
“Tired?” He asked with a quiet chuckle. You nodded, blinking slowly. “I’m gonna miss our sick little greenie. You’re affectionate like this.”  
You looked up at him and rolled your eyes, “Shut up.”  
Nines came around the couch, leaning down to kiss you head before sitting beside Gavin, “He’s right, you know. These past ten days you’ve snuggled up to us quite willingly and I doubt you will do so when you’re healthy again.”  
You grumbled something quietly but were slowly losing the battle to keep your eyes open. The siren song of sleep was attractive and you were more than willing to let it pull you under. You felt Gavin’s hand come up to comb through your hair, aiding in putting you to sleep soundly. It had been three days since you had coughed, whether it be from recovery or the cough suppressant no one could be sure, but they would find out tomorrow morning. With that final thought you fell asleep against Gavin’s chest, listening to his heartbeat and even breaths, and the low grumble of his voice as he whispered to Nines.  
___  
Nines woke you up early. Stupidly early. Five in the morning early. But your appointment was at six in the hopes of being able to get to work on time. Your doctor had been kind enough to come in early to try and return Detroit’s most recent hero back to the police force. You’d have to get x-rays of your chest again this morning to prove they’re clear and get approval to return to work. Sluggishly, you pulled on your uniform, not feeling like trying to formulate an outfit, and reveled in the feeling of the scratchy material against your skin.  
Gavin had laughed when he saw you in your uniform, teasing you about not wanting to dress like a proper detective. You just reminded him that you weren’t technically a detective and he was wearing a t-shirt. Effectively shut down, he grabbed a toaster strudel Nines had set on the counter for him and shoved it in his mouth. Nines prompted both of you to finish breakfast and get in the car, not wanting to be late for your appointment that was before office hours even began. You practically fell off the kitchen stool you were so tired. You pleaded quietly for a cup of coffee, possibly an energy drink, anything to wake you up, but Nines denied your requests and instead led you by the shoulder out to the car.  
You slept in the car on the way to the hospital to see your doctor. When you woke up you were sitting in a room, waiting for the doctor to come in. You shot a weak glare at your partners for once again carrying you around like a kid instead of just waking you up, to which they both waved you off. After that, the doctor came in and began your check-up. There were a lot of deep breaths and blood taken before you were led away to get the x-rays done to make sure your lungs were clear. After they were done you just had to wait for them to be developed.  
You sat on the bed, leaning against Gavin who sat beside you, “I hate hospitals.”  
“Get used to them, kid. Wait until you get shot for the first time,” He chuckled, “They fuck you up with the good stuff and you won’t feel your limbs for days.”  
“You say that like I’m gonna get shot. Believe it or not, I’m not as dumb as you,” You scoffed.  
Gavin shook his head and huffed, “You don’t know shit, greenie. Officers always get shot when they least expect it.”  
“If we do our job properly, Gavin, she won’t get shot,” Nines informed his partner as if it was obvious.  
“Hey, Gav?”  
“Yeah kid?”  
“Don’t move.”  
You shifted to lay on the bed, laying with your feet by the pillow and your head in Gavin’s lap. X-rays were only supposed to take a few minutes to process but the blood work was going to take at least an hour if not longer. In the meantime, you were going to sleep, your fatigue still eating at you. A pressed giggle left you as you felt the bed depress further and turned to find Nines now laying on the bed the same way as you and Gavin laying with his head on Nines’ chest. This was dumb. Your partners were dumb. You couldn’t be more thankful for this awkward trio; after a week or so at the precinct you just knew this was the best possible partnership for you. You couldn’t wait to go back to work.  
About two hours later, your doctor returned to the room with the results. Gavin practically shoved you off the bed to wake you up and you shot him a glare before greeting the doctor. He seemed to find your antics amusing enough and motioned for you to sit down again so he could cover everything. Nines slapped Gavin upside the head while they settled back into their seats near the wall.  
“Everything came back clean,” He announced happily before continuing, “However that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook just yet. While the bacteria is dead you still have a long road to full recovery. I’m taking you off the cough suppressant, so you’ll go back to coughing but you need to so your body can expel what’s left of the mucus in your lungs.” You nodded along, “The fatigue is also going to follow you for a while, along with some chest pain and possibly shortness of breath. I know it’s up to your captain but I highly suggest sticking to desk duty for a while if it’s possible.”  
“Oh, it’s possible,” You rolled your eyes, “Especially with those two behind you. They’ll gladly confine me to my desk.”  
He chuckled a bit and handed you a new prescription, “I’m also prescribing you an inhaler, just in case something comes up. If anything feels too uncomfortable or painful don’t hesitate to come in and talk to me or one of the nurses. We want to make sure there are no complications, even during recovery.”  
You nodded, “I won’t. Quite frankly if Nines even suspects something is off he’s likely to drag me here against my will.”  
Your doctor nodded and stood, “A good man, he’s just looking out for you. You’re free to return to work and go about your day. Just make sure to get that inhaler.”  
“Will do, and thank you.”  
“You’re welcome. Have a good day,” He ducked out of the room after that.  
You turned to Nines and Gavin with a bright smile, “I get to go back to work!”  
“For desk duty only,” Nines reminded you, but you just waved your hand dismissively, “Don’t think for a moment that I’ll be letting you out of my sight any time soon.”  
You shrugged and stood, “Any work is better than none. I was going insane back home.”  
“We know,” Gavin nodded, “And now you’re going to go insane at the precinct. And I hate to break it to you but I told Fowler you were cleared and he called a press release to clear the air.”  
You groaned as Gavin and Nines led you back out to the car. A press release was the absolute last thing you wanted to do when you got back to the precinct. Deep down, you knew it was because no information had come out about the incident at the last one other than you had pneumonia and were staying with family in the meantime. The way back to the precinct from the hospital was eerily familiar and you shifted in your seat. You could only vaguely remember what had happened after the original press release. You knew you had fallen over and Gavin had swept you into his arms, you’ve seen the video after all, but after that things got blurry. You remembered clinging to him, crying and begging to go home, and him sitting in the back of the car with you, but after that it was all gone until you woke up in a bed. Nines had told you that you had fallen asleep, but he hadn’t felt like filling you in on the details of what happened while you were out or how concerned they had been.  
When Nines parked, you hesitated to get out of the car. Apparently, you hesitated long enough for Nines to open your door for you and prompt you to get out. You couldn’t help but just stare at the front doors to the precinct. A few news vans were dispersed across the lot, along with plenty of cars with visitor passes that you were sure belonged to the press. An uncomfortable noise rose from your throat and you began to fidget. Gavin had to practically shove you into the precinct; he put his hands on your shoulders to steer you into the press release room where you met with Fowler for the first time in days.  
“You’re not going to pass out this time right? You feel fine?” He asked seriously.  
You had to hold back the sarcastic comment on the tip of your tongue as you said, “I’m fine now. I may be a bit slow for the next couple of weeks but I’m not about to collapse.”  
Fowler nodded, “Good, good.” He pat your arms lightly, “Welcome back, Officer.”  
“Thanks, Captain.”  
You watched as Fowler took the podium and immediately the room went silent. Camera men could be seen turning on their cameras and mics while reporters opened their notebooks to take notes. With little fanfare, Fowler called the press release to order, laying down ground rules of what this meeting was for and what types of questions may be answered. You listened intently to make sure you didn’t miss anything; the last thing you needed to do was give the reporters information they weren’t supposed to know. He took a few questions before calling you up to the podium and setting a timer for you.  
“Officer (L/Name), were you forced to come to work when you were sick?” A reporter shouted above the others.  
You shook your head, “No, of course not. I had six sick days left, which I took alongside a few personal days while I recovered.”  
“Then why did you come to work?”  
You leaned forward to speak slowly and clearly into the mic, trying not to laugh, “Because I am young and dumb.”  
That got a good laugh out of everyone in the room before the questions started again, this time with something a little more jarring, “Do you live with Detectives Reed and Nines.”  
Your eyes widened and you looked back to when Gavin, Nines, and Fowler stood, all motioning for you not to answer, “That’s not what this press release is about, sorry. I don’t feel comfortable answering that seeing as it is about my private life rather than work related.”  
A few suspicious hums rang in the air before someone else asked, “Are you fully recovered?”  
“I’m cleared to do desk work,” You answered, “Pneumonia is a persistent illness and while I’m no longer considered sick, I will still have symptoms for a few weeks, mainly fatigue.”  
The back and forth went on for twenty minutes before the timer went off. You looked back at Fowler who was motioning for you to turn the mic over to your partners. You did so easily, stepping away from the mic as Gavin took your place while Nines stood lightly off to the side behind him. You went to stand beside Fowler, who nodded his approval. Many reporters tried to pry into the lives of the two detectives, asking about their relationship together and with you as well as living arrangements and android/human relationships. Nines and Gavin deflected all the off-topic questions with practiced ease, only answering questions about the sick policies at the precinct and your general wellbeing as their partner. After the time was up for them, they turned the mic over to Tina and left the room with you in tow.  
You were happy to settle yourself on Nines’ desk and he handed you a tablet. He gave you a general rundown of what he wanted you to work on. You didn’t know enough about the most recent cases to help write the reports, but there was plenty of leftover paperwork to do from the incident at the lake that you were more than familiar with. You plunged into the work immediately, typing away happily and quietly. Gavin and Nines discussed the case they were working on, where they would have to go and the warrants they would have to obtain. Hopefully none of their leads were bad. Everything was back to normal, or about as normal as it could get with you coughing.  
As per usual, after a few hours of sitting and working you began to fidget, the stillness causing an unsettled feeling in your chest. Nothing you were unfamiliar with, but not a pleasant sensation. You shifted, shoving your hand into your pocket and pulling out your creation. You touched a small power button, then set the small, metal buck on the desk. He roamed calmly, bowing his head as if he was grazing, then looking back up in the direction of any loud sounds. You watched the deer, the anxiety that had been forming in your chest settling away to nothingness.  
“Officer, what is that?” Nines asked once he noticed the creature.  
“That’s Angus,” You supplied, “Uncle Eli helped me make him. He’s to help calm my anxiety when everything is too still. If he proves affective, we may release a line of small desk creatures for officers and veterans suffering from PTSD to help them.”  
“So it’s a robot?” Gavin asked.  
You nodded, “Yeah. It’s got an AI in it so it acts like a deer, and if we were to put another buck on the desk, they would knock antlers. He took me three days to program and two days to build, with Elijah’s help of course. But I know a lot more about robotics and androids now than I did a week ago.”  
“That’s…very impressive. And he helps your anxiety?”  
“He’s a source of calm movement, which really helps when I have to sit still for long amounts of time, because even if I’m working my mind tends to wander to places it shouldn’t.”  
Nines and Gavin nodded at your explanation. You went into a little spiel about how you wanted to create a rabbit, a doe, a frog, and a squirrel to go along with Angus, each catering to different types of anxiety. They seemed pretty proud of your little creation, but eventually they had to leave to go to a crime scene. You promised to call Gavin if anything went wrong, and if there was a true emergency to get Connor who was just across the room. When they left you slid off the desk and onto Nines chair, taking your time to review the case they were working on and watching Angus prance around the desk. It was calm. Nice. Everything was back the way it should have been, and you couldn’t have been happier.

**Author's Note:**

> For real, I need to stop writing these long pieces and write the short ones that fill in a lot of context


End file.
